Cirsova 7 – Galactic Gamble

Posted On March 22, 2018

 Yeah boi!  Been chomping at the bit to talk about the latest edition of my favorite sf/f magazine.  We’re going to take these stories one at a time.  Dominika Lein kickes things off with her usual talent for leaving huge swaths of a story open to the reader’s imagination.  I still haven’t figured out how she does it, but somehow she puts vivid images in your head by NOT describing things.  Like the best horror movie directors, she shows you just enough to fire your imagination and lets you take over from there.  What results are full fleshed scenes with a modicum of description.

Marilyn Martin does the same thing later in the issue in “Emporium”, but that’s a post for another day…

In “Galactic Gamble” a roguish smuggler gets caught up in a power play between two high ranking socialites, and bets his whole future on his strength of arms.  This story represents the best that the #PulpRev has to offer.  Daring fights against terrible monsters and impossible odds, tight suspense at the gambling table, a touch of romance, and villains that make your skin crawl.  Some of the characters might be a little iconic, but they are iconic because they work, damnit.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.